Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Wire: Xaiver Legette a must-add after Diontae Johnson trade, plus more pickups

Posted by Admin October 29, 2024 Football

Tuesday turned into a busy day in the NFL and for Fantasy managers. Several things happened that could impact the moves you make on the waiver wire.

In Indianapolis, the Colts benched Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco. You should be adding Flacco off the waiver wire, and he could become a weekly starter in all leagues. This is also great news for Josh Downs and Michael Pittman.

In Baltimore, the Ravens traded for Diontae Johnson. With Johnson gone in Carolina, Xavier Legette, and Jalen Coker become receivers to add off the waiver wire.

And in Houston, Stefon Diggs has suffered a torn ACL, and he’s out for the season. With Diggs out, along with Nico Collins (hamstring) still sidelined, Dalton Schultz, John Metchie III, Robert Woods, and Xavier Hutchinson are worth a look in deeper leagues.

We’ll dive into all of these topics and several others below. Be prepared to make several moves on the waiver wire heading into Week 9.

Editor’s note: For this waiver wire column, we are mainly looking at players rostered in less than 65 percent of CBS Sports leagues.

Week 9 Waivers

Injuries: Jordan Love (groin), Aaron Rodgers (knee), Drake Maye (concussion), Derek Carr (oblique), Will Levis (shoulder) and Andy Dalton (thumb).

On a bye: Brock Purdy and Russell Wilson

Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Tua Tagovailoa (80 percent rostered), Justin Herbert (67 percent) and Aaron Rodgers (65 percent). Tagovailoa returned from his four-game absence for a concussion in Week 8 against Arizona and scored 16.7 Fantasy points, but he’s capable of more. I don’t love his matchup in Week 9 at Buffalo, but then he gets the Rams in Week 10, the Raiders in Week 11, and the Patriots in Week 12, which are more favorable defenses. … Herbert is actually averaging 35 pass attempts a game for his past three outings, and he finally had a big performance in Week 8 against New Orleans with 28.1 Fantasy points. I don’t love his matchups in Week 9 at Cleveland or Week 10 against Tennessee, but then he gets Cincinnati in Week 11, Baltimore in Week 12, and Atlanta in Week 13. If he continues to increase his volume, then Herbert could return as a starting Fantasy option in those favorable matchups. … Rodgers has scored at least 21.3 Fantasy points in two of his past three games, and he has a favorable upcoming schedule against Houston in Week 10, Arizona in Week 11 and Indianapolis in Week 12. Hopefully, Rodgers can get on the same page with Davante Adams soon, and then Rodgers can be trusted in all one-quarterback leagues.

Drop candidate: Anthony Richardson (77 percent rostered). The Colts have decided to bench Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco, so Fantasy managers can drop Richardson in all one-quarterback redraft leagues. We’ll see if he gets the chance to start again this season, but he has been a bust for Fantasy managers this year.

Add in this order:

Week 9 Waiver Priority List

WAIVER WIRE

Running Backs

Injuries: Christian McCaffrey (calf), Jordan Mason (shoulder), Tyrone Tracy Jr. (head), Rico Dowdle (illness), Travis Etienne (hamstring), Jerome Ford (hamstring), Jonathon Brooks (knee), Isiah Pacheco (leg), Tyjae Spears (hamstring), Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle), Kendre Miller (hamstring), Dameon Pierce (groin), Gus Edwards (ankle) and MarShawn Lloyd (ankle).

On a bye: Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason, Isaac Guerendo, Najee Harris, and Jaylen Warren

Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Jonathon Brooks (83 percent rostered), Ray Davis (81 percent), Tyrone Tracy Jr. (81 percent), Tyler Allgeier (79 percent), Zach Charbonnet (67 percent) and Jaylen Warren (65 percent). Brooks will hopefully be activated this week and make his NFL debut in Week 9 against the Saints. When healthy, Brooks could eventually take over for Chuba Hubbard, and I still expect Brooks to have a positive impact for Fantasy managers to close the season. … Davis, Allgeier, and Charbonnet are handcuffs to roster as potential lottery tickets. Davis already started one game for James Cook and scored 18.2 PPR points in Week 6 at the Jets. Charbonnet started two games for Kenneth Walker III in Weeks 2 and 3, and he scored at least 17.9 PPR points in each outing. And Allgeier would be a must-start running back in all formats if Bijan Robinson were to miss any time. … Tracy is in the concussion protocol, and he could miss Week 9 against Washington. But he’s the No. 1 running back for the Giants when healthy, and he’s scored at least 14 PPR points in three of his past four games. … Warren is on a bye in Week 9, but I still want to roster him if possible, especially as a lottery ticket if something happens to Najee Harris. Warren also scored 7.9 PPR points in each of his past two games.

Drop candidates: Antonio Gibson (56 percent rostered), Ty Chandler (55 percent) and Jerome Ford (52 percent). Gibson could be a handcuff to Rhamondre Stevenson if you want to roster him, but Gibson only has eight carries for 10 yards and one catch for 9 yards on one target in his past two games. … In his past two games, Chandler has two carries for 4 yards and no targets. There’s no reason to roster him, even if you still consider him a handcuff to Aaron Jones. … Ford is injured and has missed the past two games, and now Nick Chubb is healthy. It’s easy to drop Ford, especially since Cleveland has a bye in Week 10.

Add in this order:

Week 9 Waiver Priority List

WAIVER WIRE

Wide Receivers

Injuries: Mike Evans (hamstring), Deebo Samuel (ribs), Jauan Jennings (hip), DK Metcalf (knee), Tee Higgins (quadriceps), Nico Collins (hamstring), Stefon Diggs (knee), Diontae Johnson (ribs), Brian Thomas Jr. (chest), Christian Kirk (collarbone), Gabe Davis (shoulder), JuJu Smith-Schuster (hamstring), Allen Lazard (chest), Quentin Johnston (ankle), Brandin Cooks (knee) and Adam Thielen (hamstring).

On a bye: Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and George Pickens

Check to see if available in shallow leagues: Jauan Jennings (83 percent rostered), Khalil Shakir (76 percent), Keon Coleman (74 percent), Calvin Ridley (74 percent), Jalen McMillan (73 percent), Ladd McConkey (73 percent), Jakobi Meyers (70 percent), Josh Downs (68 percent) and Jerry Jeudy (66 percent). Jennings is worth adding even on a bye because hopefully, he’ll be healthy in Week 10 and can be a playmaker for the 49ers and Fantasy managers with Brandon Aiyuk (knee) out for the season. … Shakir and Coleman have done well the past two weeks even with the addition of Amari Cooper. Shakir has 16 catches for 172 yards on 17 targets over that span, and he scored at least 13.5 PPR points in each outing. Coleman has nine catches for 195 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets in those two games against Tennessee and Seattle, and he scored at least 16.5 PPR points in each game. … Ridley had a breakout game in Week 8 at Detroit in the first outing without DeAndre Hopkins with 10 catches for 143 yards on 15 targets. Hopefully, he can start being more consistent, and he has 32 targets in his past three games. … McMillan didn’t play great in the first game without Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring) in Week 8 against Atlanta, finishing with four catches for 35 yards on seven targets. But that’s now 15 targets in his past two games, and I expect him to be a contributor as the season goes on. … McConkey just had a breakout game in Week 8 against New Orleans with six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns on six targets, and hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. He has at least six targets in five games in a row heading into Week 9. … Meyers returned from his two-game absence with an ankle injury in Week 8 against Kansas City and had six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. He’s now scored at least 13.2 PPR points in each of his past two games and is the No. 1 receiver in Las Vegas with Davante Adams gone. … Downs is a must-add receiver with Joe Flacco back under center for the Colts. With Flacco, Downs scored at least 15.9 PPR points in three games in a row. … Jeudy is probably my third-favorite Browns receiver behind Cedric Tillman and Elijah Moore, but Jeudy just had five catches for 79 yards on eight targets in his first start with Jameis Winston against Baltimore in Week 8. I don’t mind adding Jeudy with Winston, the starter in Cleveland, for the end of the season.

Drop candidates: Christian Kirk (87 percent rostered), Wan’Dale Robinson (70 percent) and Allen Lazard (63 percent). Kirk is out for the season with a broken collarbone, so you can drop him in all redraft leagues. … Robinson has 50 receiving yards or less in three games in a row and has scored 10 PPR points or less in each outing. The volume is there with 25 targets over that span for 16 catches, but he’s doing nothing down the field or scoring touchdowns, which makes him difficult to roster, even in PPR. … Lazard missed Week 8 with a chest injury and will have to deal with Davante Adams when healthy. In one game with Adams in Week 7 at Pittsburgh, Lazard only had four catches for 58 yards on four targets.

Add in this order:

Week 9 Waiver Priority List

Injuries: Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and T.J. Hockenson (knee).

On a bye: George Kittle and Pat Freiermuth

Check to see if available in shallow leagues: T.J. Hockenson (84 percent rostered), Tucker Kraft (84 percent), Cade Otton (75 percent), Zach Ertz (73 percent). Hockenson is expected to make his 2024 debut in Week 9 against the Colts, and hopefully, he can pick up where he left off before suffering a torn ACL in Week 16 last season. I wouldn’t consider him a must-start Fantasy tight end right away, but he’s worth stashing if you can carry two tight ends on your roster. … Hopefully, Jordan Love (groin) is healthy and can play in Week 9 against Detroit, which would keep Kraft as a must-start tight end in all leagues. He has scored five touchdowns in his past five games and just had three catches for 78 yards and a touchdown on three targets in Week 8 at Jacksonville. … Otton should be 100 percent rostered in all leagues, and he’s been dominant the past two games with 17 catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 20 targets. He should continue to produce at a high level with Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring) out. … Ertz has scored at least 14 PPR points in each of his past two games against Carolina and Chicago, and he has 11 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown on 16 targets over that span.

Drop candidates: Pat Freiermuth (74 percent rostered) and Isaiah Likely (68 percent). Freiermuth is not worth carrying on your roster during his bye in Week 9. He has scored 7.1 PPR points or less in three games in a row. … Likely is about to lose value with the Ravens adding Diontae Johnson in trade. Likely has also scored 8.7 PPR points or less in all but two games this season.

Add in this order:

Week 9 Waiver Priority List